Photos: 15 Years Since the 2003 Northeast Blackout

On August 14, 2003, a series of faults caused by tree branches touching power lines in Ohio, which were then complicated by human error, software issues, and equipment failures, led to the most widespread blackout in North American history. More than 50 million people across eight northeastern U.S. states and parts of Canada were left without power for at least 24 hours, and many of them were in the dark for weeks. In New York City, thousands of commuters were stranded when the power cut out late on a Thursday afternoon. Memories of the 9/11 attacks only two years earlier were fresh in people’s minds as scenes of thousands of people evacuating Manhattan on foot were replayed.

Read more
Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Most Recent

  • John Ricky / Anadolu / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Wheelbarrow Race, Count Binface, Orange Skies

    A volcanic eruption in Indonesia, a tilting tower in Taiwan, the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade in Japan, protests opposing Israel’s attacks on Gaza in the United States, and much more

  • Lukasz Nowak1 / Getty

    Chile’s Amazing National Parks

    Images of several of Chile’s national parks, encompassing a wide variety of environments

  • Juan Carlos Vindas / Getty

    For Earth Day, a Photo Appreciation of Birds

    A handful of images of the tens of billions of individual animals divided among some 10,000 species, inhabiting nearly every environment on Earth

  • AFP / Getty

    Photos of the Week: Burning Bull, Blue Forest, Olympic Flame

    Eid al-Fitr prayers in India, trophy winners at the Boston Marathon, the burning of a historic building in Denmark, a joyous water festival in Thailand, and much more